I'm a busy "stay at home" mom.... My cousins were Home schooled, so I am aware of a few things. We are located downtown instead of rural area, so we have daily access to museums, art, libraries, and parks! Yippee! However, I do not have a grand budget to purchase wonderful teaching tools/games that my child's (ugh, public, free school) had available.

Does anyone recommend one specific book or website that helped you a lot? We really need all the help we can get! I don't know if I can do this, and I only have one kid, two cats (One too many)< and a big dog that we must walk everyday. The father is away for work, always, so , it's just the two of us. I never get a break. I do housework when the kid sleeps. I have no idea how I can take the time to prepare a real honest to goodness lesson plan (My cousin IS a Kindergarten teacher! I know for a fact she stays up late and after hours working extremely hard for her job! Not all schools are awful!! Our school was not working for us , on so many levels. ... the 40 min bus ride, the "reduced sugar" TRIX?????? OHYGOSH , and we are mostly vegan, so, the school attempted to substitute more wheat, instead of various grains (many kinds), seeds, nuts, beans, and not so soggy veggies. (The veggies were actually GREY) and no water break between breakfast and lunch. (How is this legal???!) talk about dehydration and obesity, this is how it happens. First, they told me we could not bring food to school because it was a low income government run program. Part of the "program" is that they offer us free food. Kind of inner city too. The kids have color coded tags, and names called about six times before going to class. !(when does the learning begin? are they mini nazis? to be in the army? they do learn to line up. I guess.)

anyway, How do you find time to ... prepare lesson plans? where do the plans and activities come from? How can I obtain some of these educational games? I could buy one game each month! I have a budget, but I could do this! We love the outdoors as well, so any outdoor activities are welcome. We are all about the sunshine and fresh air/!!

We would love to study Spanish. I'm Catholic Christian, but there is a very long Spanish sermon, entirely in Spanish from 11:30 til like 3 ish, It includes a fabulous vegetarian meal! wow! We are so blessed, with many options for learning. This , unfortunately, conflicts with nap times. Kid gets crazy without the nap... maybe we will reschedule so she goes to sleep early at 7. so , we wont' miss out on any possible chance of the sun peaking out behind Michigan clouds at one pm??

Does anyone have any ideas? How can I create lesson plans when I'm always doing housework at night? so much to do! wow... I have a big dog with lots of fur... and a huge mess. we never fully moved into our house, we have tons of clothes and "junk" just flopped everywhere in the "extra" rooms. (the living areas are clean!) but we've never fully moved in! My husband is away always. I have no babysitter. I just do cleaning it at night , so far, or perhaps early morning.

Any ideas or tips would be , oh my gosh, oh so appreciated! We need help!! (Please do not insist that we lose the Spanish, though. I really need this challenge. Kids are very flexible at this age.) We just need to learn the basics, but , in a fun way! Thanks!_________________we need your help! please!

in addition to all the housework, I do all the yard work too, and... well."everything"> Serioulsy? How does one find the time? to homeschool in addition to regular chores? really? I need to know! I'd love to do some planned activities. We just kind of fly by the seat of the pants all day. Need more.... Please help! I don't know where to begin! How do I better manage my time? Do I hire house cleaner? or yard man? or? just send the kid to the school that I don't like that much? ??_________________we need your help! please!

@NightGirl,
I may have a solution for your Spanish interest.
My name is Ron Fortin. I am a former U.S. Marine, I.T. consultant, turned Principal of a school for impoverished kids in Guatemala, and now CEO of Homeschool Spanish Academy Inc.

We're a high quality online Spanish institution that offers affordable interactive immersion lessons with native Spanish speaking instructors in Central America using proprietary high quality video conferencing software to students ages 7 and up. Perfect for homeschoolers, or as a tailor made alternative to language software.

My best advice would be to first...take a DEEP breath. You can tell just by your writing alone that you're a little overwhelmed. Take a deep breath, gather your thoughts, and then get ready to do a little work...but nothing too strenuous, yet, lol.

Luckily, I gather from the title of the thread that your child is only 3 years old at this point. As you'll see over and over in this forum, the general consensus is that a three-year old child doesn't necessarily need a "curriculum," per se right now, and most public school systems don't require anything from you until the child is 7. Of course, check with your local district for regulations. But...for now, every activity they do is a learning opportunity! You'll have to stretch your creativity a little during the day, but there doesn't have to be any long, tired nights of planning out specific objectives and activities.

Based on your own comfort level, let your child start helping with small chores during the day. Can she put her toys away or make a bed with assistance? How about dry or put away small dishes? Hehe, my son is allowed to put away FORKS and SPOONS, and sometimes a sippy cup, lol. How about folding or sorting laundry? Dusting/polishing furniture? Can she feed the animals, or give them water? Be prepared for things not done perfectly, but a little patience can lead to less stress on you to get everything done, and a great learning experience.

Cooking is also a great way to teach...let her count out or measure out ingredients, stir/mix, etc.

If she hasn't mastered colors/numbers/shapes/letters, incorporate counting, reading, and sorting by color or shape into these activities. If she HAS mastered these...great! Learn them in Spanish!

The same principal can apply when you're out walking the dog. If you see any trees/birds/flowers/insects, even in the city, see if you can identify them, and discuss them. If you take the dog to a dog park, learn about the other breeds of dogs that may be there. Learn the Spanish names for the wildlife you encounter. Talk about the weather and the places that you pass...anything that comes to mind.

When you're out doing chores, make it a learning experience. At the store, learn about different types of less common veggies and fruits and where they are grown and how they get to your market. Let her help count out money and pay for a small purchase. If you have to go to the post office, let her write a letter to a friend or family member (with as much help from you as needed), learn about addressing it and postage, and how to mail it. See if your own bank, or one close by in the neighborhood has a savings program for kids--let her open a small savings account to further help learn about money and how the banking process works.

As for more "educational" activities, make sure you have a library card if you have access to a library! These can be great resources...some libraries will even have software/video programs such as Rosetta Stone for learning languages, and educational games that can be checked out, and of course, reading is always recommended! Libraries can also supply you with educational videos, and many also offer free programs for kids.

If you have a science or discovery museum nearby, invest in a membership...if you'll use it. See if they have a reduced or free "introductory" or trial admission, or if they have membership fees on a sliding scale.

Use the internet to its fullest capability. There are Spanish programs, free curriculum sites, places to BUY ready to use curriculum, and pretty much whatever else you want to use it for. If you'd like to keep your child from using the computer too much, there are some supplies available from different places. At work, we use DiscountSchoolSupply.com, but a lot of stuff on there, I've found for cheaper, elsewhere. Use it for ideas, and then search for the best price on things your child might enjoy.